LIMBURG (BELGIUM)

:''This article deals with a province in Belgium. For other uses of Limburg, see: Limburg. For the town of Limbourg in Belgium, see: Limbourg''
'Limburg' is the easternmost province of Flanders (which is one of the three regions of Belgium), and is located west of the Maas river. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Liège, Flemish Brabant and Antwerp. Its capital is Hasselt. It has an area of 2,414 km² which is divided into three Arrondissements (''arrondissementen'' in Dutch) containing 44 municipalities. As in all Flemish provinces, the official language is Dutch.

Contents

Geography

History

Administrative divisions

See also

Geography

Belgian Limburg is crossed by the Albert Canal, and has historically been a major coal-mining area.

History

Limburg's name derives from the fortified castle town known as Limbourg, situated on the river Vesdre in the Ardennes, now in the Walloon province of Liège. It was the seat of the medieval Duchy of Limburg which extended into the Meuse region north of the city of Liège. However, most the area of the current Dutch Limburg was not part of this polity but was divided among several states including the Duchy of Brabant, the Duchy of Jülich, and the Bishopric of Liège, as well as the Duchy of Limburg. A result of this division is still evident in the plethora of distinct varieties of the Limburgish language spoken in Limburg municipalities.
Following the Napoleonic Era, the great powers (United Kingdom, Prussia, Austrian Empire, Russian Empire, and France) united the region with the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. A new province was formed and was to receive the name "Maastricht," after its capital. The first king, William I, who did not want the name Limburg to be lost, insisted that the name be changed to "Limburg." As such, the name of the new province derived from the old Duchy of Limburg that had existed until 1648 within the triangle of Maastricht, Liège, and Aachen.
When the Catholic South, both the Dutch and French speaking bits, split away from the mainly Calvinist, Dutch North in the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the province of Limburg was at first almost entirely under Belgian rule. In 1839 Limburg was split into so-called ''Dutch'' Limburg and ''Belgian'' Limburg, though it became Flemish when all provinces in Belgium came under control of institutional regions.
In 't Bronsgroen Eikenhout is the official anthem of both Belgian and Dutch Limburg.

Administrative divisions

Arrondissement Hasselt:   2. As   3. Beringen   8. Diepenbeek 10. Genk 11. Gingelom 12. Halen 13. Ham 15. Hasselt 18. Herk-de-Stad 20. Heusden-Zolder 26. Leopoldsburg 28. Lummen 33. Nieuwerkerken 34. Opglabbeek 38. Sint-Truiden 39. Tessenderlo 43. Zonhoven 44. Zutendaal

Arrondissement Maaseik:   5. Bocholt   7. Bree   9. Dilsen-Stokkem 14. Hamont-Achel 16. Hechtel-Eksel 22. Houthalen-Helchteren 23. Kinrooi 27. Lommel 29. Maaseik 31. Meeuwen-Gruitrode 32. Neerpelt 35. Overpelt 36. Peer

Arrondissement Tongeren:   1. Alken   4. Bilzen   6. Borgloon 17. Heers 19. Herstappe 21. Hoeselt 24. Kortessem 25. Lanaken 30. Maasmechelen 37. Riemst 40. Tongeren 41. Voeren 42. Wellen

Not to be confused with, though related to, the Netherlands' province of Limburg.

See also

★ Limburgish language

★ List of Governors of Limburg, Belgium

★ Limburg (Netherlands), a province in southeastern Netherlands.

★ Hesbaye